Cape Town - Local fine artist, Marguerite Kirsten, has scooped top honours at the 2018 Absa L’Atelier awards, held at a special gala dinner in Johannesburg on Wednesday evening.
Now in its 33rd year, the prestigious annual awards recognises the talents of visual artists across Africa, and is one of the world's most revered art competitions.
Each year, the competition provides young visual artists aged 21 to 35 with the opportunity to develop their talents abroad and further develop their careers and personal brands. This year's competition included entries from 12 countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mauritius, Seychelles and Mozambique.
The 2018 competition saw Cape Town-born Kirsten fighting off stiff competition to win the overall Absa L’Atelier Award for her installation, Embodiment.
The award-winning installation, Embodiment. PICTURE: Supplied
The artist, who has battled with various medical conditions her entire life, said she felt her body has become "an instrument of the medical fraternity".
As such, her work, comprising various fluids that represent the ephemeral nature of her body, sought to strengthen and dignify the artist’s physical body in the face of this perceived objectification.
In recent years, the Absa L’Atelier awards has become a touchstone for the concerns consuming young people on the continent.
Works referencing hair styles as a form of expression, identity and a site of contestation were prominent in previous years and remained important to a number of this year’s entrants as well.
Some artworks offered insights into the particular conditions and contexts from the artist’s countries of origin, including pressing political issues regarding land ownership in South Africa, and challenging fixed gender roles.
Dr Paul Bayliss, Absa Art and Museum Curator, said the awards were n line with the ethos of Absa’s new Africanacity identity.
“Bringing to light the best art on the continent, lighting up the careers of artists from all over Africa, putting the spotlight firmly on African artists for more than three decades, and investing in Africa’s creative economy for this length of time, all represent the spirit of Africanacity. These are the physical manifestations of the inspirational Africanacity idea in action,” Bayliss said.